The National Textile Corporation (NTC) mill workers in Tamil Nadu will protest on April 20 in order to be paid their wages.
According to trade union leaders T.S. Rajamani and M. Arumugam, employees at the seven mills in the State have only been receiving 50% of their salaries since May 2020, when the mills were shut down during the shutdown for COVID-19.
However, for the previous six months, the employees did not even receive the minimum wage. Even though the mills have remained closed since that time, roughly 30 people continue to work there every day to maintain the machinery, power supply, security, etc.; nevertheless, they are not compensated for their work.
“A worker pays for petrol when he rides his bicycle to the mill,” two-wheeler. So he is spending his money to travel to work but not being paid, Rajamani added.
In a memo handed to Coimbatore district Collector Kranthi Kumar Pathi on Thursday, the trade union leaders urged that the wages of these workers be paid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The workers would demonstrate in front of the NTC mills in the State on April 20, they added.
“We have filed a petition with the Central Labour Commissioner and sought the Madras High Court. Ministers and authorities have visited with us multiple times. However, there is no relief for these employees, according to Arumugam.
